The sunnier climes of recent weeks has got us in the perfect mood for today’s spring wedding styled shoot, set against the glorious backdrop of the Blagdon Estate in Northumberland and featuring some of the gorgeous suppliers that we were lucky enough to work with yesterday at our beautiful Alnwick Garden Luxury Bridal Show.

There’s a whimsical quality to this romantic shoot and, dare we say it, even a subtle wild streak thanks to the beautiful pared back blooms and atmospheric woodland setting. And for the bride who is looking for something altogether quirky for her special day, prepare to be inspired by the most captivating blue-hued gown.

zoe emilie says: In the quieter months, out of the peak wedding season, we like to create something with a bit of flair, to help promote the talented local wedding suppliers here in the North East – of which there are many. A shoot such as this is also a great opportunity to add something a little bit extra special to our portfolios where we can really show our skills off to maximum effect.

When arranging the shoot, we agreed that the beautiful new wedding venue The Grange (Shotton Grange Weddings) would be the perfect backdrop with its stunning walled garden and woodland.

We settled on a spring look, which was perfect for the time of year, but unfortunately the weather was anything but spring-like on the day of the shoot. We contended with heavy rain and freezing temperatures but as our hairstylist Tina Elliott said “we proved our true northern spirit” and still delivered the shoot – the results where amazing considering how wet it was on the day.

One of my favourite looks from this shoot has to be the gorgeous blue dress with mini gold crown, both designed by Kathryn Russell. It’s such an alternative and beautiful look and when paired with Thoughts Of You Flowers’ stunning florals this look is just to die for. I so wanted a blue dress for my wedding – I wished I’d known Kathryn back when I got married!

This afternoon on the blog we’re heading to the beautiful north east coastline for styled shoot that is both bold and beautiful.

Styled and shot by fine art photographer Kimberley Waterson, the concept of the shoot was to steer clear of obvious nautical themes and instead inject some warm colour to contrast with the cool and stark surroundings.

To help bring her vision to life Kimberley teamed up with a talented group of north east suppliers who took care of everything from the attire and décor to the cakes and flowers.

Here to give us more details of the day is the lady that captured the team’s wonderful efforts. Over to you Kimberley…

kimberley says: Living in the beautiful north of England we sometimes overlook the beauty spots so very accessible to us and it was having this in mind that inspired this styled shoot.

Surrounded by miles of breath-taking coastline I started my journey scouting locations. I knew I wanted to view Marsden Rock first as this iconic location brings in people from all around the world and is one of the most recognisable landmarks in the north east.

Owned by the National Trust and overlooked by the Marsden Grotto (a pub/restaurant and soon to be wedding venue) we knew Marsden Rock would be a busy place to shoot and so decided to do the shoot on a Monday, though the unpredictable British weather certainly kept us on our toes.

It’s insanely busy at Brides Up North HQ at the moment as we finalise plans for our autumn season of Luxury Wedding Exhibitions. We’ve got eight marvellous shows coming up this time around, and right across three regions too. Make sure to put one of these in your diary.

We start the season in under a fortnight’s time (I’ve blinked and missed the Summer) at the extraordinary venue that is The Alnwick Garden, Northumberland. I first became aware of this gorgeous and unique spot via submissions to the blog, and it was when I first blogged this Real Wedding back in 2012 that I knew this venue was something special. When they invited me to work with them earlier on this year, I couldn’t start planning fast enough! I’m not really into reposting (we keep things fresh here at Brides Up North) but it’s beautiful, it’s timely and aren’t the best things in life always worth a reprise?

You can pre-register for FREE entry and your VIP Bride To Be Welcome Pack on Sunday 1st September 2013 by clicking here.

This Real Wedding at The Alnwick Garden sent to me by North East Wedding photographer Phil Smith Photography and real bride Sarah has to be one of the most fabulous big days that I’ve ever seen. I just love it all, from the vinyl table names to the heart shaped balloons to the bride’s beautiful birdcage veil.

Over the festive period I’ll be recapping some of my very favourite Real Weddings from the last 12 months on the wedding blog. It’s been a tough choice! In true Brides Up North style, each wedding featured on these pages is unique, beautiful and gorgeously personal. It’s been an exceptionally fabulous year! Enjoy…

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Now, I know I say this a lot (pretty much every time I open my inbox), but today’s Real Wedding sent to me by North East Wedding photographer Phil Smith Photography and real bride Sarah has to be one of the most gorgeous big days that I. HAVE . EVER. SEEN. I just love it all, from the vinyl table names to the heart shaped balloons to the bride’s beautiful birdcage veil.

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Sarah and Dave: your wedding truly rocked.

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Sarah says: We got engaged on 27th July 2010. Dave took me out for my birthday for a meal but had booked a suite in a nice hotel on the Quayside in Newcastle Upon Tyne as a surprise. He tried to get me to go for a walk so he could propose on one of the bridges after the meal but I had eaten too much and just wanted to lie down, ha ha!

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Luckily he had booked a suite which had a full glass wall overlooking the whole Quayside so he got down on one knee in front of the view and I was so excited, it was totally unexpected. I said yes immediately and cried!

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We were married on 29th June 2012 at The Alnwick Garden in Northumberland. Neither of us had been before and we had gone to look at the Castle as a possible venue and they told us we could get married in the gardens too if we wanted to have a look while we were there so we did. As soon as we walked in we both turned to each other and said “this is it!”.

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We chose a bright garden theme to match the venue and incorporated our love of music. Very muted greys and ivory outfits but then really bright exotic flowers and décor to set them off.

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I chose a wedding dress called Lizana by La Sposa from Darcy’s in Morpeth. It was strapless with a fitted long bodice and a mermaid kick out at the bottom, no bling just nice fabric detail and a little edgy like me! I had emerald green shoes with custom made shoe brooches under my dress.

I carried a teardrop bouquet in exotic bright flowers with green orchids and glorosia lilies by Fern of Morpeth.

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Our friend Ben (the singer in Dave’s band) sang an acoustic version of “Grow Old With You” from The Wedding Singer during our ceremony.

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We wrote our own vows and didn’t show each other so they would be a surprise on the day. Dave totally blew me away with the emotion he showed and his words were perfect despite having to pause a few times to compose himself. He had the whole room in tears and he made me feel like marrying me meant the world to him as he is not usually an emotional guy.

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We decorated the venue ourselves using giant flowers that used to be part of the NewLook summer window display! I went round all the North East NewLook stores to ask if I could have them the year before and they were donated to the gardens after the wedding to use for charity event.

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We had music themed table names on vinyls and made badges which were put onto handmade rosettes which said “This Wedding Rocks” and were used as napkin ties.

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We also had a remembrance table with candles to remember those who couldn’t be with us (especially my Dad) – my Mum gave me away.

Our friend’s band – The Monologues – were amazing and kept us entertained all night long! We made our own playlists for ceremony, wedding breakfast and in between band sets.

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We learned a special dance and had a few lessons prior to the wedding to make our first dance perfect.

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In the evening we also had Pop Up Studios, with props and blackboards for our guests to write messages on for us to go into a guestbook album.

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After the wedding we jetted off to Thailand: Bangkok three nights, Chaing Mai five nights and Koh Phi Phi Island for the last ten! Amazing!

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My top tips for other Brides Up North would be don’t get hung up on the little things, if there is something you cant afford to do or a piece of décor you cant get hold of no-one will know it isn’t there except you! Also try to steal away some time to spend with your husband after the ceremony, it’s a big deal and you should reflect and share the special moments of the day together away from the crowds. Because of our venue our photographer had lots of places to take us around the site for photos and because of his unobtrusive and relaxed style he did a lot of the shots at a distance which gave me and Dave the chance to chat and take it all in away from everyone else. We really treasure this time we had together.

Helen says: David proposed in our first home on Christmas Day, he wanted to do it somewhere that was special to us both and took me by complete surprise. We were married on 15t July 2011 at St Benets Church and then the reception was at Crathorne Hall.

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St.Benets is my parish church and a beautiful one too. Crathorne Hall is an exclusive venue for one wedding and it feels you have the whole place to yourself with a gorgeous lawn at the front for reception drinks.

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We chose a vintage, shabby chic and English opulence theme, injected with fun, and our colour scheme was a mixture of soft pastels -pinks, blues and lavender.

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I wore Vanessa by Maggie Sottero from Wedding Essential Newcastle. I wanted something soft and flowing I knew soon as I tried it on it was “the one”. I carried a bouquet containing peonies, hydrangea and roses by Cathryn Burgin – I wanted an English country garden look in July.

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My bridesmaids wore gowns from Zara on Regent Street and the men went for a more contemporary look with skinny ties.

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We loved the whole day it was amazing sharing such a special day with all our friends and family. But we both enjoyed the ceremony and saying our vows the most - we have never been so happy in our lives!

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We chose a Wedgwood inspired wedding cake by Take a Bite which was served on cake stands with vintage tea cups and added drama with venetian masks by Kathryn Russell.

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We used Polaroid’s of guests for place names and had Yankee Candles and miniature vodka for favours. Purple Peacock Stationery designed our tabled decor.

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When the guests arrived we had the amazing Saxophone player Anthony Taylor, setting the mood on the lawn. Later we had the talented singer Ashleigh Lowes and our friends jumped on the decks playing soul and house music.

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After the wedding we had an amazing honeymoon in Cape Town, on safari and in Mauritius.

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My top tip for other Brides Up North would be that adding unique details to your wedding will make the day more memorable to your guests. The day goes so fast so make sure you have a very good photographer there to capture your memories and I am not just staying that as a photographer myself but as a bride!